Wild Edge Moose 3-2 in Shootout After Late Game-Tying Goal

Bradley Marek turned what looked like a Manitoba escape into an Iowa lifeline, scoring 22 seconds after Dawson Barteaux put the Moose ahead late and helping the Wild steal a 3-2 shootout win at Casey’s Center.

The game was built on patience and shot blocking long before the late fireworks arrived. Manitoba opened the scoring at 8:15 of the first period when Danny Zhilkin finished a play set up by Matt Shaw and David Anhorn, and the Moose carried that 1-0 edge through a tight first half. Iowa, coming off a 5-2 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins, kept the margin thin with steady goaltending and enough pressure to stay within reach in a low-event game that never threatened to turn into a track meet.

That restraint mattered when the final two minutes arrived. Barteaux scored his first goal of the season with 1:29 left to give Manitoba a 2-1 lead, a goal that looked like it might be enough for a club trying to finish the regular season with momentum after entering Friday on points in three straight games. But Marek answered almost immediately, striking just 22 seconds later to tie it and send the building into overtime, where neither side could break through.

Riley Mercer was the reason Iowa was still standing at that point. He stopped 31 shots in regulation and overtime, then added five saves in the extra session to keep the Moose off the board. In the shootout, Mercer delivered the stop that swung the extra point to Iowa, turning a one-goal game into a comeback win and extending the Wild’s ability to survive late in defensive games that often come down to one rebound, one clearance, or one clean save.

Manitoba finished with 33 shots to Iowa’s 28 and fell for the second straight time in a shootout, dropping to 34-29-5-3. Iowa improved to 27-35-6-3. The result came in the first game of the teams’ final weekend series of the regular season, a stretch that carried more about pride, pacing and finishing strong than playoff drama, but still offered a useful snapshot of both clubs. Manitoba showed it could push back after a tough night, but Iowa showed something equally valuable: the ability to stay alive until the last second, then finish.